6 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. EF57-7: Rsa· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. EF57 9 Shinjuku 19750119: VVVF· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. EF57 7 機関車: Tokyo538· CC0
- 4. EF57 1 Oga Ueno 19740811: VVVF· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. JNR Class EF57: Original uploader was Rsa at ja.wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Station East Park JNR EF57: Miyuki Meinaka· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Class EF57 (EF57形) of 2-C+C-2 wheel arrangement DC electric locomotives was a development of the previous JNR Class EF56. 15 Class EF57s were built between 1939 and 1943 by Hitachi and Kawasaki. Introduced on Tokaido Line passenger services, they were seen at the head of expresses such as the Tsubame, complete with train headboard mounted precariously on the front of the cab decks.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 87 years ago, in 1939.
- 1.6 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 19.9 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1939–1943
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 15
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Hitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing
- operators
- Japanese National Railways, Ministry of Railways
- top speed
- 95 km/h
- power
- 1.6 MW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC overhead line
- wheel arrangement
- (2'Co)(Co2')
- length
- 19.9 m
- weight
- 111 t
- Dutch name
- JNR EF57
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q820137, Wikipedia: JNR Class EF57 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.